Do kids ever outgrow the need for ADHD medication?

[Anonymous]

we are just starting DS on Adderall. Wondering how many kids if any actually "outgrow" their need for medication. Are we on this train forever? FWIW, DS is taking the lowest dose and his teacher has noticed a difference. He takes 5mg. I can't say that I really see a lot of difference, but I trust his teacher's observations b/c he is in a more structured environment at school where it might be more noticeable.

[Anonymous]

Our psychiatrist told us that 2/3 of kids lose their diagnosis by their mid twenties and no longer need medication.

[Anonymous]

But many find that they need it again when they hit their 40's.

[Anonymous]

My cousin did his junior year of college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But many find that they need it again when they hit their 40's.

Curious about a source on this....?

[Anonymous]

I am always surprised how little research people do on this. The evidence is that ADHD meds do not improve school performance in the long term. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323368704578593660384362292

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am always surprised how little research people do on this. The evidence is that ADHD meds do not improve school performance in the long term. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323368704578593660384362292

My kid takes ADHD meds to treat ADHD, which has many social, emotional and physical effects. I'm not nearly as concerned with grades as I am with self-esteem and even safety. (Like driving.)

Who ^^^ asked about academic performance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am always surprised how little research people do on this. The evidence is that ADHD meds do not improve school performance in the long term. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323368704578593660384362292

I can't read that particular article since I don't subscribe to WSJ, but I have read other articles published around the same time, including several that quoted/cited the WSJ article. From what I've read, the evidence on impact on grades/academic performance is much more mixed than you're presenting it, with some studies finding an improvement in long-term performance. Also, some of the studies referenced as supporting the notion that medication doesn't help are from the 70s, back when both understand of ADHD and available medication options were very different than they are today, reducing the relevance of that research to modern treatment. Finally, as someone else said, treatment of ADHD is about so much more than just grades; to suggest otherwise is deeply ignorant.

[Anonymous]

The condition doesn't go away, but some kids learn to compensate enough that they don't need the meds. It doesn't happen organically, but as a result of therapy and training. A lot of these kids have put hard work into things we generally take for granted, like making a plan for executing multiple time sensitive tasks. Ironically, every adult I know who has been diagnosed (typically parents of kids with ADHD) immediately asks for meds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am always surprised how little research people do on this. The evidence is that ADHD meds do not improve school performance in the long term. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323368704578593660384362292

I can't read that particular article since I don't subscribe to WSJ, but I have read other articles published around the same time, including several that quoted/cited the WSJ article. From what I've read, the evidence on impact on grades/academic performance is much more mixed than you're presenting it, with some studies finding an improvement in long-term performance. Also, some of the studies referenced as supporting the notion that medication doesn't help are from the 70s, back when both understand of ADHD and available medication options were very different than they are today, reducing the relevance of that research to modern treatment. Finally, as someone else said, treatment of ADHD is about so much more than just grades; to suggest otherwise is deeply ignorant.

Pp you are correct: the effects observed are extremely mixed depending on study population and design. And really, none have accomplished what we all really want to know as they do a poor job at systematically following families over time and collecting data in a standardized way during that process. There is a preschool one from Hopkins that did a slightly better job at this, but they ironically even seemed to miss discussing one of the main messages from their own data... At the end of their follow up time, medicated ADHD kids still lagged behind kids without ADHD in the ADHD severity scale and other measures they used. However, the medicated kids also showed a major increase in gains when they started meds relative to non ADHD kids, and they maintained those gains over time! So while they still were maybe lower than non ADHD kids at the end (which is what the authors focused on), these kids significantly closed the gap once they started meds.

The problem is many of the people conducting these studies aren't that savvy with methodology and so they rely on biostatisticians for help who are less aware of the biological mechanisms and relevant nuances of the data.

And then some reporter from a newspaper decides to play scientist and make wide sweeping statements that even they can't possibly understand the origins of.

[Anonymous]

My husband is 36 and has been on some form of meds since he was 5. When he doesn't take them, he really cant function and has a very hard time staying awake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The condition doesn't go away, but some kids learn to compensate enough that they don't need the meds. It doesn't happen organically, but as a result of therapy and training. A lot of these kids have put hard work into things we generally take for granted, like making a plan for executing multiple time sensitive tasks. Ironically, every adult I know who has been diagnosed (typically parents of kids with ADHD) immediately asks for meds.

I was diagnosed as an adult after my kid so I don't take the meds for grades. And I had good grades when I was in school including an Ivy undergrad and top 10 law school. I know other lawyers who were diagnosed as adults including a guy who was diagnosed during his federal clerkship who is now a law school dean at a top 25 law school.

I think adults with ADHD ask for and take meds because they know what it is like to live with untreated ADHD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The condition doesn't go away, but some kids learn to compensate enough that they don't need the meds. It doesn't happen organically, but as a result of therapy and training. A lot of these kids have put hard work into things we generally take for granted, like making a plan for executing multiple time sensitive tasks. Ironically, every adult I know who has been diagnosed (typically parents of kids with ADHD) immediately asks for meds.

I was diagnosed as an adult after my kid so I don't take the meds for grades. And I had good grades when I was in school including an Ivy undergrad and top 10 law school. I know other lawyers who were diagnosed as adults including a guy who was diagnosed during his federal clerkship who is now a law school dean at a top 25 law school.

I think adults with ADHD ask for and take meds because they know what it is like to live with untreated ADHD.

And I know adults who have been diagnosed with ADHD and won't take the drugs because they don't like the side effects and don't feel they are actually effective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The condition doesn't go away, but some kids learn to compensate enough that they don't need the meds. It doesn't happen organically, but as a result of therapy and training. A lot of these kids have put hard work into things we generally take for granted, like making a plan for executing multiple time sensitive tasks. Ironically, every adult I know who has been diagnosed (typically parents of kids with ADHD) immediately asks for meds.

I was diagnosed as an adult after my kid so I don't take the meds for grades. And I had good grades when I was in school including an Ivy undergrad and top 10 law school. I know other lawyers who were diagnosed as adults including a guy who was diagnosed during his federal clerkship who is now a law school dean at a top 25 law school.

I think adults with ADHD ask for and take meds because they know what it is like to live with untreated ADHD.

And I know adults who have been diagnosed with ADHD and won't take the drugs because they don't like the side effects and don't feel they are actually effective.

Yeah but it sounds like they at least try it before deciding that it doesn't work for them.

I have no side effects. Not even weight loss/decreased appetite. Oh well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am always surprised how little research people do on this. The evidence is that ADHD meds do not improve school performance in the long term. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323368704578593660384362292

I can't read that particular article since I don't subscribe to WSJ, but I have read other articles published around the same time, including several that quoted/cited the WSJ article. From what I've read, the evidence on impact on grades/academic performance is much more mixed than you're presenting it, with some studies finding an improvement in long-term performance. Also, some of the studies referenced as supporting the notion that medication doesn't help are from the 70s, back when both understand of ADHD and available medication options were very different than they are today, reducing the relevance of that research to modern treatment. Finally, as someone else said, treatment of ADHD is about so much more than just grades; to suggest otherwise is deeply ignorant.

Pp you are correct: the effects observed are extremely mixed depending on study population and design. And really, none have accomplished what we all really want to know as they do a poor job at systematically following families over time and collecting data in a standardized way during that process. There is a preschool one from Hopkins that did a slightly better job at this, but they ironically even seemed to miss discussing one of the main messages from their own data... At the end of their follow up time, medicated ADHD kids still lagged behind kids without ADHD in the ADHD severity scale and other measures they used. However, the medicated kids also showed a major increase in gains when they started meds relative to non ADHD kids, and they maintained those gains over time! So while they still were maybe lower than non ADHD kids at the end (which is what the authors focused on), these kids significantly closed the gap once they started meds.

The problem is many of the people conducting these studies aren't that savvy with methodology and so they rely on biostatisticians for help who are less aware of the biological mechanisms and relevant nuances of the data.

And then some reporter from a newspaper decides to play scientist and make wide sweeping statements that even they can't possibly understand the origins of.

Well, this is what the Hopkins press release form 2013 has to say about the study:

" The study shows that nearly 90 percent of the 186 youngsters followed continued to struggle with ADHD symptoms six years after diagnosis. Children taking ADHD medication had just as severe symptoms as those who were medication-free, the study found."

http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/ADHD-Symptoms-Persist-for-Most-Young-Children-Despite-Treatment.aspx

I am sure that ADHD meds make a difference for some kids -- but the fact is that you should understand the literature and have a doctor who is willing to discuss all these questions with you in detail. The science is far from clear here.